Chemring is committed to conducting its business in an ethical and responsible manner at all times, and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Our approach
We are committed to developing an inclusive culture within Chemring where everyone does the right thing and takes personal responsibility for their actions.
The realignment of the operating businesses under two sectors and the changes in leadership that were enacted in 2019 and 2020 has created a strong foundation from which are able to build a culture and environment founded on inclusion, respect and diversity. We are committed to implementing transparent policies and procedures, and to fostering an inclusive culture across the Group where everyone does the right thing and takes responsibility for their actions. We want all of our colleagues to be able to bring their whole self to work and then return home safely at the end of every day. In doing so we will build a sustainable company of which all our stakeholders can be proud, now and in the future. Particular areas of focus in 2020 have been around people development, communication and wellbeing. Each of these are key to developing the capability of all our colleagues and ensuring that they are engaged with Chemring enabling us to continue to build a stronger business. Chemring is its people and this means understanding how we can make the Chemring community feel even more inclusive so that anyone who lives our values and supports our purpose feels they can bring their whole self to work without fear of judgement or discrimination. Through the culture review undertaken in 2019, and the ongoing engagement throughout 2020, we are determined to ensure that all colleagues have a voice and are able to share their thoughts regularly and know that the leadership team is listening. Innovation requires diversity of thought, education, background, experience and personality type. We will continue to focus throughout 2021 on developing an inclusive and dynamic work environment for all our colleagues in support of our business goals and to ensure that we continue to invest in our people.
Our Operational Framework and Code of Conduct set out the standards of business conduct and behaviours we expect of all of our businesses, our employees and all third parties who act on our behalf. We require all employees and third parties who act on our behalf to conduct business honestly and with integrity, and to take personal responsibility for ensuring that our commitment to sound and ethical business conduct is delivered.
During the last two years we have taken significant steps to ensure that we have in place the necessary policies and procedures across the business to enable us to operate with integrity and transparency, and to the highest ethical standards. The bedrock of our governance is the Operational Framework and the Code of Conduct, both of which bind our values, behaviours, policies and procedures, and provide the necessary governance to enable us to operate in a safe, consistent and accountable way.
We continue to maintain our focus in this area, and during 2020 we implemented two notable enhancements to manage our exposure to potential risks. The first was the formation of a new Ethics & Compliance Committee, further details of which are set out below. The second was the appointment of a Security and Corporate Facility Security Officer in the US with responsibility for ensuring that at all times we operate in full compliance with our Special Security Agreement with the US Government.
Good governance and ethical behaviour underpin our evolving sustainability agenda and ensures that we operate safely, responsibly and in compliance with current legislation in all our jurisdictions.
Ethics & Compliance Committee
The Board has established an Ethics & Compliance Committee, chaired by the Chairman of the Board, Carl-Peter Forster, with the other members being the Group Chief Executive, the President of our US operations and the Group Legal Director & Company Secretary. The Committee has oversight of the Group’s ethical business conduct and compliance framework, and its key responsibilities include:
- reviewing the effectiveness of the Group’s key policies in relation to business ethics and compliance, including but not limited to:
- the Code of Conduct;
- anti-bribery and corruption policies;
- risk management policies and frameworks;
- conflicts of interest policies; and
- export control policies;
- ensuring there is an effective training programme in relation to business ethics and compliance for all relevant employees (including Board members) within the Group;
- monitoring the culture of ethical integrity within the Group;
- reviewing reports from external and internal auditors on the Group’s compliance programmes;
- reviewing the adequacy of the mechanisms in place for Group employees to obtain advice in relation to business ethics and compliance, and, where necessary, raise and report concerns, in confidence about possible improprieties or breaches of relevant policies, including the operation of the Group’s whistleblowing arrangements;
- receiving reports on issues raised through the whistleblowing arrangements regarding alleged breaches of policies relating to ethics and compliance, overseeing any subsequent investigations and reviewing the results of such investigations;
The full terms of reference of the Ethics & Compliance Committee can be found here.
Operational Framework
Our Operational Framework incorporates a broad range of more than thirty five policies and procedures which are adopted by all of our businesses. The Operational Framework implements an enhanced governance and compliance framework to enable us to operate in a safe, consistent and accountable way. As part of this enhanced governance framework, businesses are required to complete an operational assurance statement on a half-yearly basis, providing a detailed assessment of their compliance with the Operational Framework. The output from the operational assurance process enables us to drive continuous improvement in our governance and compliance framework. It also allows us to monitor and address the evolution of a number of the key risks we face and is becoming an increasingly important area of focus for our internal audit activities.
The Operational Framework policies and procedures are hosted online in the Chemring Compliance Portal. The system issues policies and related training to employees across the Group in areas relevant to their particular roles.
A summary of our key policies can be found here: